Black Sea straits. Control of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits and unlearned lessons of history

Bosphorus Strait on the world map.

Bosphorus(“Istanbul Strait”) is a strait between Europe and Asia Minor, connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of ​​Marmara. On both sides of the strait stands the Turkish city of Istanbul. The strait provides access to the Mediterranean Sea and the seas of most of Russia, Ukraine, Transcaucasia and southeastern Europe.

Istanbul... The ancient capital of three mighty empires - Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. A city that separates and at the same time unites Western and Eastern civilization and uniquely conveys the exquisite oriental flavor and culture of modern Europe.

Istanbul, a metropolis of 15 million inhabitants, dates back to the 7th century BC. And even in that distant time, when it was still called Byzantium, the city was a major port and center of maritime trade. This was facilitated by its strategically good location.

The magnificent city of Istanbul is located on the border of two continents, so the Bosphorus can rightly be called the heart of the city. The amazingly beautiful Bosphorus Strait enchants with its waters and contrasting shores. Next to fishing villages and modern skyscrapers, there are majestic palaces that perfectly reflect the fate of the city - a symbol of the interweaving of luxury and poverty, antiquity and modernity.

Bosphorus extends 30 kilometers in length, its maximum width is 3700 meters, its minimum is 700 meters, and the depth of the strait reaches 80 meters.

The mirror waters of the Bosphorus, betraying the charm of the old city, cannot be compared with anything else; they are in all possible shades of green, turquoise and blue. All the greatness and squalor of Constantinople is reflected in the sparkling surface of this strait. Summer residences and elegant palaces, which are randomly scattered along the banks, peacefully coexist with ramshackle villages inhabited by fishermen. Only occasionally the impression created by ancient buildings is destroyed by the steely shine of modern skyscrapers.

Map of the Bosphorus Strait in Russian

According to the ancient legend that is significant for these places, the almighty god Zeus fell in love with Io, the daughter of the Argive king and the river god, which did not please Zeus’s wife Hera. Io turned into a white cow and, trying to escape, descended into the waters of the strait, which has since been called the “cow ford”, or the Bosporus.

In fact, it is not known exactly why the ancient Greeks called the strait that way: “bos” - bull, “poros” - ford, that is, “bull ford”. But “cow” stuck.
The science of historical geology does not have an unambiguous version of the origin of the Bosphorus. The most common “Black Sea Flood Theory” is that the Bosphorus was formed approximately 7500-5000 years ago. According to this theory, previously the level of the Black Sea was 120 m below the level of the World Ocean and the seas were not communicated in any way. At the end of the last ice age, as a result of the melting of huge masses of ice and snow, the water level in both reservoirs increased sharply - by 140 m, a powerful water flow made its way from one sea to another. This is indicated, in particular, by the bottom topography, as well as the change in aquatic plants and sedimentary rocks from freshwater to saltwater at approximately the time indicated above. Another reason for the appearance of the strait could be an earthquake.
The Bosphorus Strait has an important geopolitical position. Since the Trojan War of the XIII-XII centuries. BC e. it has repeatedly become a cause of international tension, especially during periods of weakening of one of the main great powers.
Under the Byzantine Empire (IV-XV centuries), and after its fall - during the Ottoman Empire, the Bosporus Strait remained an internal matter of these states.
The Ottoman period in the history of the strait left a significant mark on the architecture of buildings on the banks of the Bosphorus. After the conquest, the padishahs built many fortifications here, and not only that. At first, construction was carried out in the central areas of the city, but with the advent of the 19th century. steamships, luxurious summer residences began to be built on sections of the Bosphorus coast more distant from the sea.
At the end of the 17th century. The Russian Empire gained a foothold on the coast of the Azov and Black Seas, and at the same time the problem of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles arose, which in history was called the “Question of the Straits.”
Firstly, the Bosphorus Strait is very narrow, so it is easy to be “blocked”. Secondly, the shores of the Bosphorus belong to one state, Turkey. Thirdly, the strait connects the open Mediterranean Sea with the closed Black Sea. At all times, Turkey took advantage of its exceptional position on the Bosporus and allowed foreign ships through the strait, issuing them “firmans”, a kind of license for the right to trade with the Black Sea countries. The Bosporus has always been a subject of dispute between Russia and Turkey, causing several Russian-Turkish wars. Russia managed to force Turkey to sign the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty of 1774, according to which Russian ships could navigate the strait without hindrance.
After the end of the First World War, according to the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920, the Bosporus was declared a demilitarized zone under the control of the League of Nations. Currently, there is an agreement on the regime of the Turkish straits, signed in 1936, according to which the Bosporus is an international shipping zone. Today, from the point of view of modern international law, the Bosporus is the “high sea”: merchant ships of all countries have freedom of passage through the strait in both peace and war. But Turkey retained the right to restrict the movement of ships from non-Black Sea countries through the strait, in particular its long-time enemy, Greece, and introduced a regime of advance notification of the passage of warships.

Only through the Bosphorus can Russia, Ukraine and Transcaucasia from the Black Sea communicate with the Mediterranean and further with the World Ocean.
A significant portion of the traffic through the strait is oil from Russia and the Caspian region, delivered to Western Europe and the United States by tankers loading at the terminals of the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
The passage of the Bosphorus Strait is associated with significant difficulties. The fairway that ships navigate is very winding, has an S-shaped configuration, repeating the no less winding line of the coast. Thanks to the exceptionally well-coordinated work of coastal services at lighthouses and control rooms, the modern history of the strait is free of major disasters. Since 1960, only two dozen incidents have occurred here without significant loss of life or damage to the environment.
The flora and fauna of the Bosphorus are no different from the Mediterranean, and the main commercial fish species here is mackerel.
The idea of ​​a bridge across the Bosphorus was born in ancient times. But only in the second half of the 20th century, after long and heated discussions, were two bridges built to connect the banks of the strait.
The Bosphorus Bridge, the first suspension bridge across the strait, with a total length of 1510 m, was opened for travel in 1973. It bears the name of Ataturk, but locals more often call it Bogaziki (in Turkish - “strait”). It connects the European and Asian parts of Istanbul. The height above the water is 64 m. More than half a million people are transported across the bridge every day. Travel on the bridge is paid, it is closed for pedestrians. In the first four years, people walked across it, but later this was prohibited, because those who decided to take their own lives regularly tried to use the bridge. Pedestrians are invited to use ferries that have been running between the banks of the Bosphorus since the time of the Persian king Darius I (V-IV centuries BC).
The Sultan Mehmed Fatih Bridge has the same overall length as its older brother and was completed in 1988. It also does not allow pedestrians. The bridges are 5 km apart from each other.
For ease of movement along the strait, several maritime traffic control towers, or simply lighthouses, have been installed here. They are all different from each other. The first lighthouse tower was installed by the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos in 1110. The Maiden Tower, or Leander's Tower, is one of the symbols of Istanbul, restored many times.
On the European coast of the Bosphorus is one of the oldest and most prestigious areas of Istanbul, Besiktas. One of the Istanbul ports is also located here, from where ferries depart to the Asian shore of the Bosphorus. The most impressive square of Istanbul, Barbarossa Square, is also located in the Besiktas district, and here is the Naval Museum and the mausoleum of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who, according to one version, died while crossing the Bosphorus during the Third Crusade in 1190.
If the day is sunny, the local population swims in the Bosphorus, entering the water from the Kennedy embankment, in the Sultanahmet area, despite the coastal fortifications in the form of randomly scattered boulders, ships constantly passing by and, to put it mildly, not entirely clean water. Such recklessness can probably be explained by the fact that recently the city’s population has changed noticeably both in size and composition: there are more people from distant rural provinces.
And the native Istanbulites no longer come here.
The largest number of attractions on the Bosphorus are concentrated in the Sultanahmet area. These are the most famous historical monuments of Istanbul: Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia Cathedral), Blue Mosque (Ahmediye Mosque, in honor of Sultan Ahmed), Hippodrome, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Istanbul Archaeological Museum and Suleymaniye Mosque. In 1985, the area was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

general information

Strait between Europe and Asia Minor.
It connects with Marmara, and together with the Dardanelles - with, thus with the entire Mediterranean basin.
Administrative affiliation: Türkiye, Marmara region, Istanbul province.
The largest city: Istanbul.
Language: Turkish.
Currency unit: Turkish lira.
Religion: Islam

Numbers

Length: 31 km.
Width: 3329 m at the northern entrance, 2826 m at the southern entrance.
Maximum width: 3420 m.
Minimum width: 700 m.
Fairway depth: from 36 to 124 m.
Average depth: 65 m.
Maximum depth: 110 m.
Minimum depth: 18 m in the north, 13 m in the south.
Population: about 17 million people. (2001).

Economy

Shipping: 48 thousand ships per year.
Tourism.

Climate and weather

Temperate continental, marginal subtropical zone. The influence of cold winds from the north.
Average annual air temperature:+15°С.
Average annual water temperature:+14+18°С.
Average annual precipitation: 850 mm.
Relative humidity: 71,5%.
Water salinity: in the surface current, desalinated (18%o) Black Sea water predominates, and in the counter deep current, the water salinity is 38%o.
Problems: fog, poor visibility, strong wind.

Attractions

European coast

■ Golden Horn Bay;
■ Building: Rumelihisar fortress (mid-15th century), Tophane Castle (mid-19th century), Chiefte Saraylar Palace (mid-19th century), Dolmabahce Palace (mid-19th century);
■ Religious buildings: Kilych Ali Pasha Jami Mosque (late 16th century), Dolmabahce Jami Mosque (mid-19th century), Ortakoy Mosque (mid-19th century);
■ Museums: Museum of Fine Arts, Maritime Museum;
■ Yildiz Park;
■ Sariyer Fish Market;

Asian side

■ Leander Tower(XII century);
■ Religious buildings: Mihriman Sultan Jami Mosque (mid-16th century), Yeni Valide Jami Mosque (early 18th century);
■ Building: Anadoluhisary fortress (late 14th century), Veylerbeyi palace (mid-19th century), Küçkzsu villa (mid-19th century), Haydar Pasha Tara station (19th-20th centuries);
■ Port Haydar Pasha Limana(late 19th century);
■ Chamlica Hill;

Other

■ Bridges: Ataturk Bridge (Bogaziki), Sultan Mehmed Fatih Bridge;
■ Adapar(Prince's Islands, Sea of ​​Marmara).

Curious facts

■ On the surface of the Bosphorus, the current is usually directed from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea. At a certain depth, the current changes direction and goes in the opposite direction.
■ In the winters of 1621-1669, the strait was covered with ice. This time was characterized by a general decrease in temperature in the region and in climatology was called the “Little Ice Age”.
■ The “Black Sea Flood” could serve as the basis for the legend of the Great Flood, which is present in the folklore of all the peoples who inhabit or have inhabited this region, and could also become the basis for the story of the “Dardanian Flood” from the tales of Troy.
■ Every year in Istanbul in mid-summer an intercontinental swim across the Bosphorus takes place, in which anyone who has time to register can take part.
■ On November 27, 2010, Sevastopol marathon swimmer Oleg Sofyanik swam along the Bosphorus Strait in six hours. The swim was dedicated to preserving the natural environment of the Bosphorus. The athlete was helped to swim by a strong south wind and a favorable current. The water temperature was 14 degrees.
■ On May 15, 2005, American tennis star Venus Williams played an exhibition game with Turkish tennis player Ipek Senoglu on the Bogaziki Bridge. This was the first literal "intercontinental" match.
■ Construction of the Marmaray railway tunnel between the banks of the Bosphorus is already underway, and it is planned to be completed in 2013. In 2010, the Turkish government announced to the public that it was planned to build another road bridge across the Bosphorus - in the northern part of the strait, on the Black Sea coast. The eight-lane bridge, 1,275 meters long, will connect the Northern Marmara Expressway with the Trans-European Highway.

After Turkey shot down a Russian bomber in Syria, relations between the two countries became tense. In this situation, the issue of control over the Black Sea straits (which successively connect the Black Sea with the Marmara, and the Marmara with the Aegean, providing access to the Mediterranean) becomes of key importance.

The Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits are the most important global military-economic artery; they play an important logistical role in the logistics of the Russian Aerospace Forces operation in Syria.

As stated by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, “the rules of maritime navigation through the Black Sea straits are regulated by international law - the Montreux Convention - and here we, of course, count on the inviolability of the norms of freedom of navigation through the Black Sea straits.”

Let's find out how the Montreux Convention regulates the rights of Russia, Turkey and other powers in relation to the straits. First, let's briefly talk about the role of the straits in a historical context.

Geopolitical center of Europe

The issue of the Black Sea Straits has at all times been the most important area of ​​Russian foreign policy, in which Russia has traditionally been opposed by Western powers and Turkey. Since the 19th century, attempts have been constantly made to regulate the use of the straits by world powers, with varying success for each side.

The main beneficiary of this situation was Great Britain, which, although not a Black Sea power, nevertheless built its geopolitical interests in the region - largely at the expense of Turkey and the other Black Sea powers. As for Russia, it consistently defended not only its interests, but also the sovereignty of Turkey (in particular, at the Lausanne Conference of 1922, when the very existence of the Turkish state was in question).

In 1936, the status of the straits was finally settled by the Montreux Convention, which restored Turkey's sovereignty over the Black Sea straits and also guaranteed the special rights of the Black Sea states regarding the use of the straits. Thus, the British idea was rejected to equalize the rights of the Black Sea and non-Black Sea powers to the passage of their warships through the straits, gaining under such a pretext a significant military advantage.

Let us consider the main provisions of the Montreux Convention concerning the regulation of the passage through the straits of merchant and military ships of the Black Sea and other powers in peacetime and war.

Article 2 of the Convention recognizes the right of free passage of merchant ships of all countries through the straits in both peace and war. At the same time, Article 6 of the Convention contains the condition that if Turkey considers itself to be under immediate military danger, the right of free passage is also preserved - but with the condition that ships must enter the straits during the day, and passage must be made along the route indicated by the Turkish authorities .

Warships and Turkey's right to close the straits

As for the regime for the passage of warships, it is different in relation to the Black Sea and non-Black Sea states.

The Black Sea powers have the right to conduct any of their warships through the straits in peacetime (subject to prior notification to the Turkish authorities).

For warships of non-Black Sea powers, the Convention establishes class restrictions, allowing small surface ships, small combat and auxiliary vessels to pass through the straits. The total maximum tonnage of all ships of foreign maritime detachments that may be in transit through the straits must not exceed 15,000 tons. The total tonnage of military vessels of non-Black Sea states in the Black Sea cannot exceed 30,000 tons (with the possibility of increasing this maximum to 45,000 tons in the event of an increase in the number of navies of the Black Sea countries) with a stay of no more than 21 days.

Key provisions of the Convention are Turkey's rights to close the straits in wartime.

During a war in which Turkey is not involved, the straits are closed to the passage of military vessels of any belligerent power. If Turkey is involved in a war, and if it considers itself to be “in immediate military danger,” it is given the right to permit or prohibit the passage of any military vessels through the straits.

Thus, Turkey has the right to close the straits only in the event of an official declaration of war on it (with all the ensuing consequences), or in the event of a direct military threat.

The concept of “immediate military danger” is not disclosed by the Convention and is associated with a specific situation.

For example, according to the Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation, military danger is a state of interstate or intrastate relations characterized by a combination of factors that can, under certain conditions, lead to the emergence of a military threat. Thus, it is obvious that the key concept is the immediacy of the military threat: it must be clearly expressed and cannot be hypothetical.

It should also be noted that the unjustified closure of the straits, according to Article 21 of the Convention, can be revoked by the Council of the League of Nations (its functions are currently transferred to the UN) if it decides by a two-thirds majority that the measures so taken by Turkey are unjustified, and if the majority of countries that have signed the Convention agree to this.

How Türkiye “amended” the Convention with national legislation

However, the difference between the norm and the practice of its application by the Turkish authorities should also be taken into account. And with regard to the Black Sea Straits it is very ambiguous.

In the national law of Turkey itself there are many rules that complicate the use of the provisions of the Convention. For example, in 1982, Turkey decided to unilaterally extend the internal regulations of the port of Istanbul to the straits, which would give the right to close them in peacetime. She was forced to abandon this idea only under direct pressure from the USSR and other states.

In 1994, Turkey introduced the Regulations for Navigation in the Straits - also unilaterally. This document contains many loopholes that allow Turkey to violate the navigation rights of other powers, justifying this by work carried out in the straits, police operations and other dubious circumstances. It has been repeatedly pointed out that these provisions are clearly not in accordance with the Montreux Convention, which was completely ignored by the Turkish authorities.

Thus, strictly legally, Turkey does not have the right to block Russia’s access to the straits, but in practice it may well create many problems in the implementation of this right.

The United States also ignores the norms of the Convention, systematically violating the terms of stay of its ships in the Black Sea. Thus, on February 5, 2014, in connection with the events in Crimea, the US Navy frigate Taylor entered the Black Sea, exceeding the permissible period of stay in the water area by 11 days.

The Montreux Convention and the prey turned predator

It is obvious that at present the effectiveness of a number of provisions of the Convention raises questions.

The pitfalls of the Montreux Convention were seen by the Soviet Union, which, after the end of the Great Patriotic War, sought to guarantee its security in the Black Sea - given the hostile position of Turkey, which was preparing a “stab in the back” while the USSR was fighting Nazi Germany. 28 September 2015, 16:06

The minutes of the Berlin Conference of the three Allied Powers stated: “The Straits Convention concluded at Montreux should be revised as not meeting the conditions of the present time ... this matter will be the subject of direct negotiations between each of the three Governments and the Turkish Government.”

Subsequently, the USSR continued to defend a tough position on the straits, putting forward demands on Turkey for exclusive control of the straits by the Black Sea powers. Claims against Turkey were lifted only after the death of Stalin, who did not have time to implement his Black Sea plans.

Western historians like to say that it was allegedly the “hostile” actions of the USSR that led to Turkey’s entry (which became a “victim of pressure”) into NATO.

However, as we see from the further development of events, the “victim” in a short time turned into a predator who felt the taste of blood.

An unprecedented aggression was carried out against Greece and Cyprus, which lost a significant part of its territory - for which Turkey did not suffer any punishment and even refused to comply with the ECHR decision on compensation for the expelled residents of Cyprus. Turkey began to forget about many of its previously assumed international obligations, claiming to restore its “imperial” status, ignoring the interests of other countries and allowing military aggression.

History clearly shows that such claims end in failure. This should also be remembered in connection with Russia’s legal right to use the straits, paid for with the blood of our soldiers. Russia has something to support the implementation of the Montreux Convention, thereby protecting its most important geopolitical interests.